Rules of a Different Game
by Darakna
Summary: Kai Hiwatari just turned of age. A family heirloom awaits. Responsibility forcing him to step out of the Beyblade world and into one with completely different set of rules. Life expected him to come unarmed and alone. Life was wrong. And Ray expected he had no choice but to go back home to China. Ray was wrong as well.
1. The Choice

**SUMMARY:** Kai Hiwatari just turned of age. A family heirloom awaits. Responsibility forcing him to step out of the Beyblade world and into one with completely different set of rules. Life expected him to come unarmed and alone. Life was wrong. And Ray expected he had no choice but to go back home to China. Ray was wrong as well.

 **A/N:** So, here's the thing. I'm celebrating! BOO-YA! I finished my book (2nd rewrite - the one that MATTERS).  
No, not this book. This is not a book. XD My original work. War of Wings (found on FictionPress - check it in my profile).  
So, I want to make SOMEONE happy, butI'm updating that thing every 2 weeks and the due date isn't here yet. So, why not you people? Huh?  
I mean, I should probably be working - you know, that thing that makes MONEY, or sleeping to be rested for that thing that makes MONEY, but whatever.

This is going to be a series of connected one-shots (not one story, but you know, happenings on the time-line). Related to Street-blader and The Pits, but you don't need to read any of them to enjoy this. It's going to be a grow-together, perhaps even yaoi romance, I have no clue. I've got ideas, but they're not written yet.

 **Terms and conditions** of additional chapters on the bottom of the page! It has to do with **REVIEWS** and **_prostitutes._**

* * *

 **RULES OF A DIFFERENT GAME**

[Chapter 1]  
 **The Choice**

* * *

The huge clock in the Bay city airport showed 13:30 when Kai glanced at it for the third time in what was obviously the last five minutes. He was growing increasingly nervous ever since Max left on his plane at 10:00 that morning. There was just something about the boy leaving Japan that tugged on Kai's conscience even though he refused to admit it. He'd grown close to the BladeBreakers in the last few years, and now they were all going their separate ways. Sure, they were gonna see each other at every possible occasion; Kai's business will bring him to Japan quite often and the others had their own motives. Max and Tyson still had one year on the tournament and they will probably use it gladly. Even Ray could still come back for one year, if he so chose; the judges were bound to make an exception for him - he would turn 18 during the games and not before them like Kai did.

Speaking of the tiger … the boy was standing near his exit looking at the displayed time-schedule for the last half an hour. His hair in their usual wrappings flickered through the air for every nervous stroll of five feet up and down that the young teenager managed. Even now, his eyes darted down at his ticket to China and up where the red numbers blinked.

He and Kai kept distance ever since Tyson departed an hour ago - becoming too hungry to stay put. Kai and Ray gave him a go, telling him they were going to be fine and neither of them will be stuck here for long. They would hear each other over the phone or over the Internet every week, and when anybody would touch down in Japan again, Chief was to be informed so he can pass the news on to Tyson.

Still, Kai's head was more stuck on Max hugging him than Tyson giving him a friendly shake of the hand. He always had a soft spot for the blond boy for some weird reason. Less like a rival than the other two and more like a little brother that made him proud over and over again.

After a short, but awkward situation where he and Ray pointed each to their own exits and told the time of their departing, they slowly drifted apart. Kai's mind was full of expectations about his arrival to Russia. About the Hiwatari Enterprises he would now be a full CEO of and the duties that came with it. About the paperwork and the numberless amount of signatures he would have to deal with. About loneliness that waited for him there - an empty void of some sort after the overwhelming company that were BladeBreakers.

Leaning on the wall with his hands crossed, Kai decided to check the outer world again. This time he would _not_ check the clock. His mind would snap if he found out that less than five minutes have passed since the start of his musings. No. His plane leaves ten minutes after Ray's and if the other is still in his usual spot, then the time hadn't come yet.

Sure enough, Ray was chewing on his lip at the square pillar, right bellow the flight announcements. He hadn't so much as glanced in Kai's direction for ages. His mind too occupied for any contact, even with the master of anti-sociality. And Kai knew what that was about.

Ray was returning to China. Even if just three months ago he admitted that he wasn't ready to settle on one spot, marry the pink-fluffy thing and becoming the leader of the village. After the victory, Kai could see the boy glancing at him from the corner of his eye on occasion, opening his mouth to ask or speak, but words never carrying any sound as they left him. The last time they conversed about this situation, Kai told him that _"_ _You should follow what your elders say_ _. Or you could chose not to._ _"_ It was nothing if not controversial and really unhelpful, yet he could see Ray thinking about it every day. But at the end, practicality won. Ray had nowhere else to go to, refusing to stay alone at Tyson's for obvious reasons - the 'world champ' would make him a slave of the kitchen and the tiger would never see the daylight again -, informing Mr Dickinson that he does not feel comfortable leeching of BBA's money as the company just got back to its feet after the BEGA incident two years ago. He only had two choices left: get a job and fast to pay for own apartment, or leave for home where a house was waiting for him, complete with a wife and a title.

And everybody ended up with their family - some more happy than others about it, but family was where it all of it came to a close. Except for Kai. For him it ended up with his family's _business_. Alone in some large house, with tons of paper work and no visitors except for some psychotic ex-team-mates if they were up for it. Even beyblading was out of his grasp now.

 _All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy._ He grumbled at the thought, then cursed mentally as he noticed himself checking out the time again. 13:45. Ray's plane will start boarding in five minutes. Obviously that much was known to the Chinese as well, as he was visually hyperventilating now, absently grasping at his heart as he almost chewed his lip bloody.

Kai's nostrils flared at momentary frustration.

Then he made a choice.

If he gave the tiger the _third_ option, will the boy grab it like a lifeline or run away from it like Kai expected him to.

Walking up, the Russian went unnoticed, which only proved how tightly strained the seventeen-year-old really was. He sighed, holding tight to the strap of his dufflebag and burying the other hand deep into the pocket of his cargo-pants. "Ray."

The one he called jumped almost a foot in the air and whirled around, ready to bolt into the other direction as the predator that was hunting him. Seeing that it was in fact only his team-mate he slowly relaxed, although his lip was still being viciously bitten. "Sorry, Kai! Didn't see you there."

"That's a first," Kai said calmly, staring at the spot behind Ray rather than at the guy himself. It sometimes made personal words flow easier. "You look nervous."

A chuckle. A very nervous chuckle. "Oh, well, you know. Just going home and all … Haven't been there for a long time and …"

"Quit the bull, Ray," Kai said, looking into those golden eyes. Eyes of a frightened animal. "We both know you don't want to go home yet, because you're afraid you will not be allowed to leave. Ever."

Those eyes hardened and slits narrowed into cats. Flight turning into fight. "Well, I don't have a choice do I?"

"Remember our talk at the hotel room?" Kai asked. The answer was obvious even before he finished the sentence, yet he still elaborated, "In Moscow."

Ray looked ready to argue some more, but suddenly his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yeah. Of course I do."

"There is always a choice," Kai repeated his old lesson.

Staring at the floor, Ray thought for a moment until his head snapped up, eyes glassy, "I tried, didn't I? I didn't get a job. And even if I did … I-" He rubbed his nose-bridge, growling under his breath. "I don't know what else to do."

Kai blinked. "Here's an idea: come with me."

It took a few seconds - maybe a whole minute - for his words to sink in. When they finally did, it was obvious how shocking to the tiger they were. He stopped his nervous ministrations and looked up at Kai as if he just realized his true captain was kidnapped by aliens that replaced the original with a really bad copy. "What?"

"Come with me," Kai repeated.

Ray opened his mouth, but nothing came out for the first few tries. Until suddenly: "How? Where?"

Kai shrugged. "To Russia, of course."

"What, now?"

Kai did feel like this was a bit too spontaneous to be healthy for him, yet he figured Ray panicked enough for the both of them. He really wasn't a nervous sort of person by nature. His plan seemed sound to his own ears, and if he could convince Ray without too much effort, how bad can it really be. "Yeah."

"I-I-" Ray looked up at the schedule again and blurted his first problem. "I don't have a ticket."

"It's a private plane," Kai admitted. "I would have already left if not for the amount of traffic today. We had to book a window just to lift off."

Ray's jaw almost dislocated. "You have a private plane?"

"Hiwatari Enterprises."

"You mean, like Voltiare's company?" choking on the name.

Kai chuckled. "Ray, it's Hiwatari's company. Voltiare hasn't been in charge ever since he was sent to prison. They were waiting for me to come of age."

" _Your_ company?"

Kai nodded. "As of today."

Ray looked around, searching for wormholes out of this crazy dimension. "You're the leader of Hiwatari Enterprises."

"It's called a CEO, but essentially, yes."

Silence.

"Flight 862 Is now boarding. We repeat: Flight NH862 Is now boarding." Ray's flight. The English translation was followed by few others.

"Listen," Kai sighed. "It is not a one way trip. I will be coming back to Japan, and go to China for that matter. The main seat of the company is in Russia, but a large branch of it is here. We are placed all over the world. You will not be stuck in Moscow forever. If you decide, you can come back with me next time I visit Japan and you'll be right here again. If you change your mind about going home to your village at that time, you are welcome to do so." Kai swore he just passed his daily words-to-speak. Unfortunately, he'll have to get used to this, seeing what waited for him back in Russia.

"But-but … You'll be busy."

Kai nodded. "True. Very much so."

"I don't want to impose."

Kai snorted at that. "Of all the people I know, you are the least imposing one." Ray looked at him doubtfully. "Why do you think I always picked you as a room-mate."

A deadpan expression covered his teammate's face. "Because you're do not suffer obnoxiousness, hyperactivness or smartassness in your immediate surroundings."

Kai lifted one eyebrow. "You're being a smartass right now."

Ray snorted. "So, I guess we can't be sharing a room then."

"We won't have to. I have a mansion."

"You - you -" Ray actually took a step back. "What?"

"It needs a bit renovation, but yes, we definitely wouldn't be sharing a room."

Ray paused, looking at his ticket, deep in thought. Until finally: "You're really doing this? You're asking me to come with you. You really mean it? This is not a joke?"

"I think I ran out of joke-fuel during yesterday's farewell dinner."

Ray grinned. "I never knew Tyson could have so many nicknames."

"Yeah, there are things I wish I wouldn't knew about him. Like how many rice balls can he stuff in his mouth."

He got a good natured laugh in return to that statement.

"But, yes. I mean it," he said as the tiger calmed down.

Ray looked down at his ticket and up at the schedule again. A voice crackled up, informing him about his flight boarding. He sighed looking down. Kai gave him time to think, refusing to force the guy or leaving him behind without the decision being final. Finally there came a nod.

"Alright. I accept."

Kai felt himself soar with relief. Not realizing how much Ray's acceptance of his offer meant to him. He let a smirk seep through his otherwise perfect mask. "Good."

They waited for ten more minutes. After Ray watched his plane depart without him, they headed towards one of the smaller exits. Each carrying their own negligible amount of luggage, Kai and Ray boarded the plane, handing their packs to the stewardess whose smile didn't waver as she noticed two passengers instead of one.

Quarter of an hour later they were in the air, and Kai felt more at ease then he ever thought possible. For the first time since he started planing his return, he felt like he could do this without losing his mind or soul. Ray was here to remind him of his old life - of the life he thought he was going to leave behind forever. Now he took it with him. The ecstasy even went so far that he actually focused on the song that boomed through his headphones without his thoughts jumping synapses on 'what if' scenarios.

Something tugged on the cable that hung out of his ear and he turned his head, removing the object and staring at Ray who was holding a thin book in his hand. English written book, not Chinese. Probably what Ray thought to be the last moments of the outer world before he would be trapped in his village forever.

But what distracted Kai from the object was a big grin on the tigers face and the other, extended hand. He measured them both, looking from one to the other suspiciously.

"What?" he asked, leaning away.

Ray smiled even wider, if that was possible. His teeth brilliant against the warm light of the room miles above the ground. "Happy birthday, Kai!"

Kai opened his mouth to protest. Nobody knew bout his birthday, except for those who handled his official papers, and those were wise enough to keep it to themselves. Even Mr Dickenson.

'Happy birthday' sounded so much weirder than 'It's your birthday' statement from his grandfather. And as he wondered how this guy knew about today being his birthday, he remembered their talk on the ground. The talk about him coming of age today. Even if Ray wasn't as nosy as the others, he picked up on such small stuff.

And the outstretched hand still waited. At least it wasn't an immediate glomp as some other - namely Max - would insist on. And it wasn't a yell for the whole world - like Tyson and Daichi would have done. Or planing for his party - Hillary and Chief's style. It was a congratulations, like one of many that waited for him back in Russia.

Kai reached out, taking the hand, letting the tiger lift it in a more informal touch teammates usually did. His forearm felt warm against the other's. "May your new position not give you bigger headaches as your last."

Kai doubted it, but it was a nice thought anyways.

* * *

 **A/N:** Like the start? No? Yes? Well, do I have some news for you!

HERE'S **THE CATCH** : This is gonna be **REVIEW WHORING**.

You want more chapters? (that aren't written yet, btw - only two more are written, and neither of them is ch2; 4 more are planned: 1 has Tala in it and 2 are sexy scenes and I have no idea how I'll get that far with them! *tears hair out*, also this won't be just one of those _mansion_ -fics. Other BladeBreakers will show up for a chap or two, there will be travel and whatnot)  
WORK FOR THEM.  
Convince me that it has enough people that are interested. Heck, it can be only 2 people that are really into it, and they write AWESOME reviews and I'm in a good mood, and things happen and I update. You can speed my updating time (next week or next millennia, who knows my mood - I sure don't, my shrink sure doesn't, my bff maybe, but he's an asshole) immensely with just ONE review. Coz that mail reminds me that I'm writing something else but my own original work and MONEY MAKING WORK SUCKS.

Now, maybe I'll update in two days. Maybe never - if I forget this exists. There is no schedule to it.

You wanna keep your words to yourself? Okay, go read the other Beyblade fics.  
Oh, are you like me, who already covered all the good ones at least 2 years ago? That sucks.

Your reviews can consist of ONE WORD or AN ESSAY - I know I used to write essays for reviews in my days when I read FFVII smut. But this will be no non-realistic smut, so yeah ...

 **JUST REVIEW! Damn you all! YOU'VE GOT THE POWER OVER THIS!**


	2. In Need of Renovation

**SUMMARY:** Kai Hiwatari just turned of age. A family heirloom awaits. Responsibility forcing him to step out of the Beyblade world and into one with completely different set of rules. Life expected him to come unarmed and alone. Life was wrong. And Ray expected he had no choice but to go back home to China. Ray was wrong as well.

 **UPDATED: up to you**

* * *

 **RULES OF A DIFFERENT GAME**

[Chapter 2]  
 **In Need of Renovation**

* * *

The plane-ride took about ten hours. Kai and Ray arrived to Moscow that evening, both exhausted and in Kai's case irritated. He didn't per say, regret taking Ray with him. He just regretted not buying the guy a bigger book at the airport store. Ray was obviously a fast reader, interested in the story so much, he finished it way too fast for Kai's comfort. And then came awkward silence from both sides. Not that there wasn't silence in the cabin before, seeing as Kai refused to commune with the world outside of his mp3, and Ray was focusing on the written material, it just wasn't that much of an awkward.

Kai still heard the music blasting from his earphones, but his sense for surrounding mood gave out alarms so vicious, he barely registered it anymore. Blinking open his eyes, he looked down at Ray who was now glancing at everything that _wasn_ _'t_ that thin book. Mainly and mostly Kai who was just trying to have some alone-peaceful time.

It was hotel-rooms all over again.

 _Damn it._

So, they chatted. Or rather, Ray chatted and Kai looked at him waving around, explaining something or the other, sometimes answering a question. Until, he, somehow, found himself answering more oft than not, actually looking and listening to what Ray had to say, pondering the words before mouthing them.

It was hotel-rooms all over again.

And Kai was strangely okay with that.

It helped to focus on something else but the stress of work that loomed above him like some misshapen figure with his grandfather's eyes. Even when Ray asked what was it that Hiwatari Enterprises actually did, Kai explained it at length _without_ his brain going into overdrive and doing time-schedules for a week beforehand with people that would maybe and perhaps decide to wish to see the new CEO.

 _Adding all of the pros and cons onto the same page like that - the plane ride wasn_ _'t too bad_ , Kai thought.

But Ray was tired now, jet-legged perhaps. The still-light outside probably confused the energy out of the guy. Kai, on the other hand, had that small knee-jerk that told him that it was time to _train_ and _move_ and _not get punished_ for lazying around, because the Abbey was _right there_ \- on the other side of the massive town, and _people_ , that no longer worked there, just _might know_ that he was driving in a limo, not doing any training done whatsoever.

He _had_ to get over this ridiculous reflex. Maybe even take to a bed before the stars were out for at least four hours.

So, there was finally silence again. Each stuck to their own side of the back-seat, looking out the window and half-napping/worrying.

The Hiwatari mansion came into view, and Kai sat up straighter, drawing Ray's attention. The tiger lifted the chin out of his palm and stared at his friend with a cocked head. Until he finally noticed the building himself and almost punched his forehead through the closed window to better see it.

"It's huge!"

"No it's not," Kai protested. Indeed, it shouldn't even be called a mansion but just a bigger-house. It had all the fancy stuff such as the blooming garden and a large balcony, but it didn't hold dozens of rooms like a real mansion should. There were two stories, with three large bedrooms each, a sizable dining room that was never used, and a roomy living area that had seen better days. In fact, what would make it worthy of being called a mansion was the showy rococo decoration of the outside, with kitsch walls that were pealing their outside layer and in Kai's personal opinion, had to go. "Renovation is in order."

Ray looked at him wide-eyed. "Are you, the great Kai Hiwatari, trying to be modest?"

Kai grimaced. "No, I, the great Kai Hiwatari, am being critical. There is no _trying_ in it."

The boy next to him mock-groaned and fell back to his seat as the fence-door finally opened and let the driver in. "What have I gotten myself into?"

"Rather ask yourself what have you've gotten yourself out of."

Ray raised his hand off his eyes and looked up at his friend with newfound gratefulness. Then, "Are you sure you're okay with me staying here."

Kai looked out towards the entrance of the building their car was crawling up to and shrugged. "Don't care. But my menagerie doesn't include a tiger yet." Their vehicle stopped, he opened the door and stepped out without another word.

"Wait, you've got a menagerie!?" Ray tried to scramble out on his side, but couldn't find the door-lever. He had to be rescued by one of the servants.

Another thing Kai had to get rid off. Currently, these people were here day and night, ready to do bidding of anyone that came to visit from his corporation.

"Well, I've got a tiger, don't I?"

The face that Ray gave him was a worthy reward for that statement.

"You know what, I'm just gonna take that ride back to the airport."

Kai snorted. "Be my guest." He walked away towards the front door.

He heard a loud "Hey!" when Ray grabbed his stuff from the back, even though he didn't need to. Then sound of feet on gravel as the boy ran to catch up with him, winded from the cold air. "Was that a pun?"

 _"Hello, Mister Hiwatari,"_ a heavily accented voice broke off any reply he might have. _"My name is Ivan and I -"_

 _"I remember,"_ Kai said in fluent Russian, walking past the man into the warm house and pushing his jacket into the waiting hands. _"This place has seen better days."_

The servant put away the clothing and waited for the shoes that refused to get rid of that fast. The floor here was a cold thing and Kai knew for a fact that they had no slippers his size. He hadn't visited this place ever since he got his last growth-spurt. The duffel-bag was dumped to the floor, while he smelled the cold, un-heated air.

Then Ray stumbled in, staring around doing one of his neck-cracking wide-eyed things he did. How his head had not fall off yet was anybody's guess.

 _"Well, your grandfather did start planing for renovation, but then …"_

 _"He's seen better days as well."_ He couldn't help but smirk at that idea. His grandfather in the prison cell of Japan. Having it good as far as prisoners went; higher-class establishment: warm bed, warm meal, comfortable living area. In fact, he probably had it better than most free men. But there was also a lock on the door, a high electric fence, check stations and dogs making sure he stayed where he should - a highly guarded retirement home for people whose world-domination plans backfired that one time.

He saw Ray narrow eyes at him suspiciously and put mask of seriousness back on.

"I hope you're not sharing that tiger-joke, 'cause that was awful."

Kai ignored him. Instead, pointing at the new arrival and the servant in turn, introducing. "Ray, Ivan; Ivan, Ray."

Ivan bowed.

Ray bowed deeper. Probably under all the massive weight of his traditional politeness and all.

Ivan tried to match the bow, but his lower back wouldn't allow him.

The whole situation gave Kai the urge to slap his forehead, berating himself for not seeing this coming, bringing Ray Kon to his home.

"Ivan's been my grandfather's servant for a few decades now."

"Two, sir." Ivan noted Kai's English and stuck to the tongue, even though he was clearly a bit afraid of mispronouncing something and making an embarrassment of himself and his master.

"And obviously, he's been staying at this place, making it livable even when my grandfather wasn't around."

"It is my duty, sir."

"So, now, he's going to take a long payed vacation."

" _Shto?_ " He blinked at Kai's unwavering gaze, waiting for an explanation. Until, finally, he figured out the problem with his question. "What?" in English.

Kai learned from training BladeBreakers that sometimes a person seeing what they did wrong on his own works much better than another person pointing it out to them. Obviously, this wasn't the case just in beyblading. This man wasn't that old, but he was old enough to try to impose some rules on his new young master and refuse to learn any new tricks. From the generation where they refused to speak English just because it wasn't their national language and now deeming themselves too old to try.

Kai was having none of the servant's stubbornness.

"This place needs to be renovated. We're not doing it room after room," Kai dumped his duffel bag on the floor, brushing his finger over the old hand-carved shoe closet. Not a speck of dust on it. "Meaning, you're going to give me the plans my grandfather made. I'm going to alter them. Then I'm sending you all to some place nice where they speak English, while this place gets fixed up."

"Where to?" The notion seemed frightening to Ivan.

Kai sighed. "Hawaii for all I care. Pick somewhere you wanted to go but didn't have the money."

"But -"

"I know my grandfather wanted to build another floor to this thing and had the needed finances saved up for it. I'm not having another floor build. I'm having my employees rested and English-fluent when they get back. We're going to make some international deals."

Two pairs of fearful wide eyes stared at him, as if he was an invading alien species. Or a youngster who stepped out of grandfather's shadow, presenting himself as a capable CEO.

"Yes, sir!"

"Okay." Kai opened the coat-closet, suddenly facing tens of his grandfather's fancy coats. Taking it in and accepting that he'd have to specifically order to remove every Voltaire's possession out of its current ready-to-be-used state. These people had to realize that the old man wasn't coming back. That he'd be lucky to get out of prison-time, much less Japan. Not on Kai's watch.

"Uh, sir?" Kai turned and saw Ivan nodding his head towards their guest. He completely forgot about Ray for a moment. Now the tiger looked scared and ready to bolt. Perhaps unprepared for the authority Kai could pull into the existence. He's been on more comfortable terms with BladeBreakers for years.

"Ray's going to be sticking around for a while. For now, give him one of the rooms that are last in line for renovation," he said picking up his duffel.

"The one next to the kitchens, then?"

Ray's eyes widened and glimmered. Kai's eyes widened as well, but in a more frightened manner. "No! Not the one next to the kitchen."

Ray's brow furrowed in dissatisfaction. "Why not?" he whined.

"Because I am not waking with a feast on the table tomorrow as a thank-you-gift!"

"What's wrong with thank-you-feast?" Ray implored, his tone getting higher by the word. Clearly Kai's absurd thoughts disturbed him greatly.

"Nothing if you're Tyson."

"You're not Tyson," Ray told him confused.

Kai nodded. "Exactly." Then he turned to Ivan. "Give him the one next to the gym! At least it'll keep him occupied."

"You've got a _gym_?" Ray sounded amazed beyond belief.

"It's a small gym," he said walking up the stairs to his own old room.

"It's a _gym_!" Ray ran after him, forgetting that he was still in full winter clothes and duffel bag slung across his shoulder, the strap digging into it painfully. The situation leaving poor dumbstruck Ivan behind.

" _Small_ gym!" Kai called over his shoulder when he reached the top of the stairs. "Barely big enough for a person to do his training."

Ray stopped on the first stair, looking up at him through narrowed eyes. Measuring this person that was his ex-team-mate, ex-team-captain, but still the great Kai Hiwatari, the phoenix of beyblading. Surviving and burning with passion for another fight, even if it was just proving his point.

"Are you always this cranky when you get home?" Ray asked, huffing, but not moving. If there was a gym it would make sense it would be on a ground floor. His room was probably on the same level.

Kai rolled his eyes, growling something unintelligible under his breath.

"What?"

"I said, I'm always _busy_ when I get home! Now, go unpack!" With that he opened the door just at the fence of the stairs and stepped inside.

"Fine," Ray drawled out, kind of bummed that the fight was over so fast. And that Kai was back to being anti-social. "Sourpuss."

He stepped down and almost collided into Ivan that was standing there. His eyebrows lifted so high they were hidden under his mop of graying hair.

Well, this was probably something new for the old staff.

* * *

 **A/N:** Why do I always update stuff after 1am? Tired as hell and whatnot.

Okay, this story is getting good feedback. The hell? o0 Thank you, I guess. There is no mile-long lists of thank you to each one of you, coz you know I do it over the PM.

This was some light writing. Went through fast (only two rereads, and no rewrites). Made Kai a bit sassy. Hope it's not too much. Let's just say he knows his team-mate and refuses to play his games for long. And forcing himself into his job like a BOSS. Or CEO. Demanding respect, damn right!  
Played Banished on the other computer in the meantime while writing. Half of my town died of starvation - bastards, how dare they. I'm a dictator in strategy games. So cruel. Good thing I'm not a god of small people, huh? Or, like a writer ...

You know, I had to put my phone on charger yesterday. That is way away from my bed. And you know that moment, when if you had phone right next to you nothing would've happened, but now that it's three steps away, you just have sudden urge to write notes right before sleeping. Oh, yeah, I'm way over the line with the: 'I'll remember it in the morning' - been sleeping with the notebook next to me for years, writing in the dark, and deciphering hieroglyphs in the morning. But now that I've got phone with a decent note-app, I trust it to be next to me ... except it wasn't. Had to get up at 4am, to fetch my phone to write it all down, so now I have a long conversation for the next chapter planed out.

But no chapter written yet, coz I need my **REVIEW PAYMENT. Go do it people. WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY!**


	3. A Worried Team-mate (a)

**SUMMARY:** Kai Hiwatari just turned of age. A family heirloom awaits. Responsibility forcing him to step out of the Beyblade world and into one with completely different set of rules. Life expected him to come unarmed and alone. Life was wrong. And Ray expected he had no choice but to go back home to China. Ray was wrong as well.

 **UPDATED: up to you**

* * *

 **RULES OF A DIFFERENT GAME**

[Chapter 3a]  
 **A Worried Team-Mate**

* * *

Light rain tapped at the windows. Clouds being slowly blown away by strong wind high above the building. The dismal display of Russia's beauty through the slosh that soaked the ground left a lot to be desired. But the new CEO of Hiwatari Enterprises was riding his own personal gloom as he tried to find some order to the disordered piles of the filled-in and signed forms. To help acquainting him to the already set-up system, each of the voting managers sent him a folder with essential information of their respective company branch. Sure, it was making Kai's job easier, but at the same time, it did cause quite a lot of headaches, as he had to cross-reference things he didn't understand.

 _Why is Hiwatari Enterprises connected with production of plastic bottles?_ A couple of minutes later, he was finally holding the right sheet of paper. _Oh, we_ _'re their recycler._ That made sense. Why were these things not outright obvious to him? Was he slow or something?

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

He jumped, thankfully already standing, so the didn't smack straight into the heavy table with his knees.

Centering his attention on what was his personal computer, he glared at the machine. Then he decided, it wasn't exactly the machine's fault, but the program on it. Then again, not really the program's, but a person of some distance away.

Sighing, he put on his Blue-tooth ear-piece and pressed the button.

"KAI!" The crackling sound, as the calling person was still setting up his microphone, did nothing to calm the nerves. The camera was on, and he could clearly see the enthusiastic blond on the other side almost hugging the screen.

Kai turned back to his work, trying to track down the use of finances in England. They weren't big enough there to use up _this_ much money, surely. "Hello, Maxie," he said politely as it was the safest course of actions with the sensitive boy. "I really hope you're not trying to get me into a three-way conversation with Tyson."

He could practically hear the scowl on the guy's face.

"Because it's only been a week since The-Last-Supper Incident and I need a little more time to get over that traumatic experience."

"Is this about those rice-balls?" Max asked, taken aback and thoroughly confused.

Kai paused. Yes, it was most probably about those rice-balls among other things. "What do you want, Max?"

The boy on the other side of the screen got a bit too serious. Kai _tried_ to get used to the many fast changes of the guy's mood in the past few years, but so far it still made him drop the usual grouchiness, changing it to a more friendly tone. Professionally acting as if he did it for his own convenience, rather than because the blond wanted it, but he doubted anybody believed that facade anymore. They didn't call him out on it, though, which was what mattered.

"Kai, I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Well, I've heard from Tyson of course. He wouldn't let me get off my computer for half of the night."

"Different time-zones."

"I knooow!" Max drawled out, looking tired as hell. "Anyways … I've heard from Tyson and Chief and Hillary of course. And now I'm talking to you." Kai blinked, seeing where this was going. "But I haven't heard from Ray ever since I left Japan. And neither has Tyson. I know they don't have a phone up there in the mountain village, but shouldn't he call when his plane touched down or something? You know, while he was still in the city. Wouldn't he think we wanted to know?"

"Oh." Kai understood the blond's worry. He would probably worry as well in this case, even if he would be less open about it. "You wanted to talk to Ray?"

"I just want to know if he's all right. Have you heard from him, perhaps?"

"Just a minute."

Kai turned off the Blue-tooth receiver, automatically switching the microphone to the one integrated into his computer. Stepping around the table and to the door, he opened it wide. Turning his head left and right, checking the corridor, listening to any noise that might give him a clue. The office was on the second floor, across from his room, but the wall blocked his view of the stairs and what lay over the fence down below.

He heard a faint, "Kai?" coming out from his computer, but he ignored that sound.

Seeing as he sent most of his staff home, shortening their working hours to exclude working nights and it was early evening now, he saw no harm of scaring a couple of bats out of the attic.

"RAY!"

At first, nothing.

"RAY KON!"

A crash of metal, followed by a course from down bellow.

Kai growled and made those two steps to look over the fence. Sure enough, Ray popped out of the tiled room, looking annoyed and guilty. The host let his eyes do the talking and Ray just looked back up at him for a long while before finally giving in.

"What?"

Kai said nothing about the kitchen for once, but watched with some dose of satisfaction how the other boy was preparing to get an earful of it anyways. He just shook his head and pointed back towards his office. "Max wants to talk to you."

The tiger's eyes lit up at the name. "Maxie?" In three large strides he was at the stairs, jumping them four at the time. How the hell did he manage that, seeing as Kai could do three at most and his legs were longer, was anybody's guess. He watched wide-eyed as how his not-even-winded guest rushed past him and gracefully swerved into the office.

Kai froze, blinking his eyes.

"MAX!"

"RAY!"

Did he just witness an art form flowing in front of his eyes. What the hell was that? He heard the ridiculousness as watching sports and dances - bodies in motion. But whilst he did appreciate observing another player beyblade - for a simple reason of finding a flaw in their tactic and using it for his own victory - he rarely saw it as something that looked beautiful. The soul of a fighter was another thing entirely. But Ray somehow managed to combine the two - creating a powerful visual that simultaneously gave fuel to Kai's own fire. Making him forget about the duties. All with a simple act of running to say hello to his friend.

Kai needed to get some steam out, soon. He entered the room tenser than he left it. Stress about his work was low now, the need to let that free fire burn almost painful instead.

Ray looked at the screen nervously. He knew how computers worked, but Kai's work-station was a mess of information and Ray felt uneasy touching anything.

After the initial joy, Max realized the obvious thing. "Ray? What … What are you doing at Kai's place?"

Ray shrugged, refusing to lay a finger on the leather chair or the mahogany table. Trying to stand still and not look awkward. "Just visiting, I guess."

Kai stepped around the table, gabbing the folder he was dealing with before the interruption.

"We're allowed to _visit_ you?" came Max's response.

Clearly directed at now even tenser Kai, who was just trying to focus on his job without downright trying to get his blood flowing too fast. He didn't want to start an argument, but the energy refused to be smothered. He sighed, as if tired of the conversation. "I kidnapped him," he said instead. "Going to sell him for parts if my budget gets too low." He looked up at Ray that returned the feed up expression.

"You became a real sass prince in the last two years, do you know that?"

Kai growled. "CEO. Would you learn to get it right!"

"That doesn't even fit in this context!"

"Geeze, you guys," beeped from out of the computer while both of them matched glares. "Would you get a room! Arguing like an old married couple!"

"What?" Both Kai and Ray shot a horrifying look to the screen then at each other. It was hard to miss Ray's eyes traveling down his body, then shooting up again, meeting the confused expression.

"Ew."

Kai didn't get it at first. "Ew?"

Ray jerked a nod. "Ew."

Kai widened his eyes in realization, cursing Max for the stupid thoughts that now traveled through his own mind, making him wonder. Making him know. "Ew," he agreed. Not just because it was expected of him, but because he really didn't want to think about that kind of activity with anybody ever.

Ray give him a questioning look, though. Seeing something beyond the usual Kai-mask. He cocked his head, those damning golden eyes trying to see even more. Ray smelled a mystery and his team-captain refused to open up. Kai knew it was not a good idea to glare back, looking all puffed up and threatening, such actions usually served only to heat up the embers of curiosity, but he couldn't stop himself.

"Huh?" came out of the computer, thankfully interrupting the tension.

Ray jumped, and turned back to the blond on the glitchy, grainy screen. "Just no."

Max, damn him, was smiling widely. Probably having a jolly good time making two people uncomfortable at once. And he didn't even have to step into anyone's personal space. The sneak was getting super-powers in his field, Kai just knew it! Worst of all, he followed it with a casual-sounding, "Why not?"

Ray didn't even consider the question before pointing his finger at Kai accusingly. "He's a _guy_."

Guessing it was his time to defend himself, Kai shrugged. "And _he_ is _here_."

Max furrowed his eyebrows. "He's _there_?"

Ray was probably thinking along the same line as Max. He turned around, throwing his arms out in annoyance. "How's that even a counter-argument!?"

Kai just opened the folder, running his eyes across the numbers again. "Trust me, it is."

A pregnant silence.

A sigh. "This conversation is over." Kai made his voice as strict as he could, walking away to a more peaceful corner of his office.

Meanwhile Ray and Max had a pleasant conversation, trying to keep their tone down, but too enthusiastic to hear from each other to pause for breath. This way, Kai overheard what Tyson was doing back in the Bay city, even if he didn't wish it so. They talked about Max's plans and Ray's theoretical plans. They talked about Kai being cranky and busy all the time, and the building they were staying in. Obviously, Ray did enter the attic at one point, where he found an old piano and no bats.

While their chat was ruining it's course, Ray found himself relaxing, doing more than just standing still in the middle of the room. He stretched out, leaning on the back of the chair, and table. Did some squats and got the blood flowing. Soon, Max started calling out challenges - "stand on your head!" - and Ray gladly entertained.

Kai growled under his breath, while his eyes kept darting from the financial tables in the folder to Ray and back. His mind drifting to the beyblade he kept in his room, close to the door. He could get his hands on it in less than thirty seconds.

With horrified thought, he realized that he missed Tyson. The boy would be in his face, demanding a match at least three days ago, already. And Ray was here, being polite and trying to stay out of his busy way.

Kai needed to get out of this stuffy room.

As soon as the boys said their goodbyes and the camera and chat window were closed with a loud PEEP!, Kai closed his folder standing up, making sure to look like a captain once again.

"Ray!"

The tiger that was trying to read through some list that lay wide open on the table without touching either surface, jerked up, looking ready to apologize and bolt, not necessarily in that order.

Kai, again, surprised him as he didn't berate his nosy disposition. "Go get Driger!"

The growl that came out of his throat made Ray nervous and worried.

"What? Why?"

Kai carelessly dropped the folder onto the chair, squeezing his hands into fists. "Because we're having a match. Right now!" He was probably too loud and too demanding, but blood flowing through his ears made him mishear his own volume.

"Okaaay …" the tiger drawled out, getting the linking of the urgency. "But you don't have a beydish."

So, Ray did discover that little issue. "I have an empty pond outside in the garden." It was on the covered part of the veranda, so it should still be dry as the rains had passed.

Ray turned around, looking at the black window, reflecting the night. "But it's cold and dark outside."

Kai felt his heart pumping, his lungs thick with fog. Fire flowing in his veins, hardly even contained. Dranzer called.

"Yes. Perfect."

* * *

 **A/N:** So, wanna see my notes as I got this idea at 3am, lying in bed? They go as such: "Ew." "Ew?" "Ew!" "Ew." Now, you wake up to this and try to make sense.

Max STRIKES AGAIN! I swear, that guy knows EXACTLY what he's doing. Okay, I can't be sure about that, but come on! Max is a sneaky bastard. Killing us with his love. Melting hearts that should never be melted. Making us consider things that should never be considered. And what's with this "He's here." thing? ... oh, trust me, I have it figured out. Sort of. It will come up, do not worry.

Ray totally dislikes Russia, he would never whine going out in the night anywhere else. Where it's probably above freezing temperatures, but that's beside the point.

Now, this is obviously a two part chapter - like 80% sure, because the b-part isn't written yet. Stress sucks. But it was nice of you people to get a schedule and bombarded me constantly with your reviews. Because one can survive the first salve if there isn't any inspirational review in it, but it's hard to duck away when they keep coming for days after.

I have one exam next week. And LIAR'S KEY BY MARK LAWRENCE is out! Goddamn, that writer! THAT WRITER! CAN FRIKIN' WRITE! I mean the dude takes a totally serious situation and makes you chuckle while reading. HOW DOES HE DO THAT?! HOW!? (for note: The Broken Empire trilogy by him is already finished, the Liar's Key is the second book in Red Queen's War trilogy).

 **REVIEW FOR MY SOUL AND ANY ADDITIONAL READING!**


	4. A Worried Team-mate (b)

**SUMMARY:** Kai Hiwatari just turned of age. A family heirloom awaits. Responsibility forcing him to step out of the Beyblade world and into one with completely different set of rules. Life expected him to come unarmed and alone. Life was wrong. And Ray expected he had no choice but to go back home to China. Ray was wrong as well.

 **UPDATED: up to you and life**

* * *

 **RULES OF A DIFFERENT GAME**

[Chapter 3b]  
 **A Worried Team-Mate**

* * *

Ray collapsed, knees hitting the puddle with a dull splash. It wasn't just cold and dark outside. It was also snowing. And Dranzer's fire melted what were perfectly manageable clumps of white into a wet sludge that stuck and soaked through everything. The tiger wore two layers of coats and an anorak over his regular clothing. All of it just a dead weight of wet fabric now.

Kai? Kai was in his t-shirt. His coat on Ray's figure, making him feel like he was lost in a smelly closet at the bottom of the ocean. No wonder he was puffing so much and losing his battle, it was like having weights strapped on during a run.

That wasn't the reason that Driger was now drowning at the bottom of slowly filling up fountain, Ray knew. But right now, he would take any half-assed excuse.

"You need to practice more."

Ray growled. Not a deep menacing tone that the tiger made, but more like a tearing sound that Mariah usually pulled. His freezing throat making it hard to keep his usual tone of voice. "And you need to shut up."

Kai shrugged. The _Whatever_ being left unsaid, but very much obvious as he picked up his blade still spinning on the edge of the bowl.

Ray hugged the wet layers of cloth closer, refusing to move or show his pout.

He still glanced up when he saw the taller boy reach further into the fountain, risking falling in, just to get to the losing blade. Eyebrows furrowed on their own accord at that.

"You need an upgrade." At least Kai's throat sounded a bit tight as well.

"I need a tropical island to sunbathe on."

The look he got was enough to make him shrink back, even deeper into the dripping shell of misery.

"You get a hot bath and a trip to Japan next month."

That piqued his interest. "Bath?"

"You're turning blue," Kai simply stated as he stepped around the structure and leaned down to pull on the back-collars of the coats, effectively lifting Ray and his dead-weight up.

The tiger put his feet underneath him and stood firm as gravity took over again. Then his hand was lifted, turned palm-up and sleeves peeled back as his blade was gently put into his hold.

"There are probably enough bodies buried in the back-yard and walled up in the mansion. I am not meaning to add another."

Eyes large as saucers, Ray stared after Kai as the youth walked away. "What?" Frozen body and the wish for warmth were enough to make him follow without another word. Until they got to the door.

Then the words from before the half-hearted joke only Kai could try to pull straight-faced, came back to him. "You're deporting me to Japan?" The voice saying the words was small, half-expected to go by ignored. Ray wasn't sure if the question he asked was fair or not. He was a guest here - got free food, free staying. Perhaps Kai decided he wasn't worth it anymore. A bit unfair, seeing as how it was him who did the inviting - but who knew what went on behind those bangs of hair and strangely colored eyes.

"I'm not deporting anyone anywhere," Kai said closing the door behind them and pulling at Ray's top layer. "I need some papers signed."

Ray blinked, helping to peel the soaking anorak from the too-large coat as he took both of them off at the same time. "And they can't just be sent to you?"

He squeaked then, when something took hold of his woolen turtleneck and pulled it up and over. Cold fingers brushed his sides when the t-shirt underneath was yanked up with the sweater.

"The signer still has to be convinced to sign them."

Ray paused at the said words. Looking at Kai open-mouthed, not sure what to say or ask. _Was Kai going to threaten someone? Is Kai simply showing up on some meeting?_ He didn't think Kai would do either. The notion was so strange. But then again, the youth was the new CEO of a very large company. That probably changes the man. How fast, though?

Those infamous eyes narrowed as his wondering has been noticed. There was a hint of an eyeroll before his host marched by with the sweater still in their grip. "I'm not going to torture someone. I'm just visiting a prison."

Ray toed off his shoes and followed, his voice still not back in order. "How is that making me feel better?" he asked sniffling as they passed the kitchen and ran up the flight one after the other. Kai taking two steps in a stride, Ray jumping to keep up speed.

They stayed close all the way to the closest bathroom that Ray usually used, since it was bordering to his own sleeping quarters. Unlike Kai's personal bathroom, this one had an actual bath. The sweater was stretched out over the radiator and Kai started fiddling with the tap as his guest took shelter near the heated area.

"It shouldn't make you feel better," Kai muttered finally. "I don't like it any more than you do."

Ray tugged at his tail, wrapping it around his head to keep it in place. His brain was in its sarcastic mode, cranky from being wet and defeated. He tried to keep his mouth firmly shut during it's onslaught. _Wow, some personal trivia! A true shocker, too_ _… that Kai wouldn't like something._ "You are a master riddler. This could be anything from busting Tyson out of holding for bad behavior in public, to visiting your grandfather at Sasebo prison."

The old handle on the tap creaked and suddenly a fog of steam lifted. Kai gripped at the edge of the bath, holding for dear life. Visibly taking a deep breath to calm down, before reaching over to fix his mistake and regulated the temperature.

"How do you know where he's kept?" came a voice, low and almost unheard over the pour of water.

"I watch the news, man."

The older boy twisted around and sat down on the tiles, knees lifted and back to the filling bath. It was a huge thing that Ray loved - sometimes taking an hour just soaking in it. But right now, Kai look sort of a mess.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," Kai huffed in what Ray learned to recognize through the years as his _not-fine_ voice.

So he kept on pressing. "What do you need signed? I thought everything went automatically to you."

Kai outstretched his arms, elbows resting on the knees. The pose of 'I don't like to talk about it, but I am willing to share'. It was a relatively new pose for the guy. He never made eye-contact during it, just told it to the room - be it empty or not. "Everything does. Not everyone agrees to it, though. If forced, they will do as I say. But it's simpler if I get a written conformation from my grandfather."

"Will he give it to you?"

Kai half-nodded. "Sooner or later."

"What does _that_ mean?"

"If he wants to stay in Sasebo, he will."

Ray was officially lost. " _If he wants to stay in prison_ , he will? That doesn't make-"

"If he wants to stay in the retirement home with bars and sentries," Kai interrupted him, "he will."

Ray just stared at him. A little frightened by the lack of any emotion, except determination, on his once-captain's face. When it came to battle this look was fine. But right now, they were talking about people.

"I have the money, power and lawyers to move him to Fuchu if I want."

"That's worse?"

Kai's eyes widened, as if he was imagining the difference inside his head and was astounded that Ray couldn't see it as well. "Oh, yeah."

Ray thought about that as he started taking off his shirt and toed off the soaking socks.

When he was free of the top, he saw that the other boy in the room didn't move from his spot. But those eyes were now staring directly at him.

"What?"

That got Kai out of his reverie. He shook his head and got up. "Nothing."

The flow of water was cut off. The host of the house stretched up to where Ray could only reach if he stepped on the edge of the bath. Some towels were neatly placed on the sink nearby.

"Am I coming with you, then?" Ray asked carefully.

Obviously, he wasn't the only one still thinking about the subject as the answer came at once. "No. I'm putting you up at the hotel in Tyson's hometown."

"Why not just at Tyson's?" Ray sat down to peel the pants off his legs.

"Because I like you sane."

"Hey!" Ray barked, mockingly. "I lived with Tyson before!"

"No. You lived with the BladeBreakers before. Or G-Revs. Never just Tyson." Kai was staring at the empty space again. Visualizing horrors. "Without any buffer …"

"Now you're just trying to make me scared. You came out of it alright."

Kai looked at him, brows lifted. Explaining to a person who obviously didn't have the whole picture. "I trained at the Abby."

"Are you comparing Tyson to Boris?"

"No, I could always zone out Boris' dopey voice." With that, the victor of today's match left the bathroom and closed the door silently behind him.

Ray rolled his eyes from the floor he was still sitting on, pants only half down his legs.

He was officially sharing a house with a smart-ass.

* * *

 **A/N:** Yes, it is late as hell. I know. And this damn laptop doesn't get English spelling. What the hell ...  
Nevermind, back to excuses.

1\. I moved. After not being able to sleep for 5mths because of my roomies' constant partying I finally did the big step. I am not living at my mom's house, but like 5 houses away and it's too close for comfort, but at least I can sleep now. And my roomies now are awesome.  
2\. I got a student job, that will hopefully turn into a real one after my graduation no. 2. It takes me 8h/day and I get home tired - nearly dead. So that's taking it's toll. You know: let's push through, be the best we can, and then, when we have a steady income, we shall relax.  
3\. I started writing part 2 of my original story and rewriting part 1. Takes time. And brains. And being awake.  
4\. ... stuff happened, so sue me.

Frankly, if I got more positive feedback I would be here faster, probably. So: blame yourselves!

To answer some questions: yes, it is a Kai-Ray fic. Maybe, possibly turning out into some kind of relationship. But like I said, nothing will move fast. Coz I don't do fast in fics like these. Enjoy small things, people. Enjoy having a Beyblade fic you can still read while it's being published, and not finished or abandoned like 5y ago.

If I had motivation this fic could be updated monthly, at least for a while. And motivation isn't: I will hurt you if you don't. I do not respond to such threats. Two robbers already tried that. Don't threaten a masochist. You will be the butt-end of a hilarious joke of: "And then I went, can't you squeeze my arm harder?" - true story, I had a bad day.

 **REVIEW FOR MY SOUL AND ANY ADDITIONAL READING!**


	5. Wolf's Arrival

**SUMMARY:** Kai Hiwatari just turned of age. A family heirloom awaits. Responsibility forcing him to step out of the Beyblade world and into one with completely different set of rules. Life expected him to come unarmed and alone. Life was wrong. And Ray expected he had no choice but to go back home to China. Ray was wrong as well.

 **UPDATED: up to you and life**

* * *

 **RULES OF A DIFFERENT GAME**

[Chapter 4]  
 **Wolf's Arrival**

* * *

Ray looked up at the clock, gritting his teeth at its ticking. How can something make so much noise without giving any wanted results?

This was the fifth personal meeting this week Kai had, and it was only Wednesday. And the current client took more than the usual hour they got. Ray didn't even keep to his room anymore. Migrating from kitchen to the the hall where the renovation begun yesterday. He wasn't allowed on the plastic cover. Not that that stopped him though. Naturally curious about what they were doing to the unoccupied bedrooms. Two bedrooms and the office were the only untouched spots in the upstairs area.

What if he took that sledgehammer to the wall? Would that cut the meeting short? It should. He finished cooking half an hour ago. Fed Ivan - the butler or manservant or whatever he was. The old guy was politely showing his appreciation by basically inhaling the food and discretely burping after it was gone.

But there was one person in the house wasn't seen eating today yet, and it was almost four in the afternoon.

If he was the leader - CEO, Kai-voice in his head crankily reminded him - wasn't he allowed to say enough to the man and the girl in there? Who brings a daughter to the very-serious, probably-boring meeting anyways? She looked twenty, way too much make-up for Ray's taste, but he's seen older women wearing worse. That tomboy from yesterday was cute though. Maybe Russia had some bring-your-daughter-to-work week. He didn't know a lot about its customs.

"If only Master Kai would ask one out, already," Ivan sighed at quarter past four. "Maybe then others would give up."

"Huh?" Ray asked, glancing from the kitchen clock. "Say what?"

"The girl, _seveda_ ," the older man still carried heavy accent, but Ray's brain clicked at the butchered sentence.

"Girl? Is _that_ what they are talking about for so long?" This somehow worried Ray. Kai wasn't a mean person, but he also wasn't the gentleman Ray was. If something annoyed him, he took action that wasn't for the faint of heart. Hillary had an attitude problem and three other boys that she could focus on, efficiently staying out of Kai's way. Emily and Kai had that unstoppable object meet unmovable wall moment - where the object soon decided to find a less stubborn detour.

Kai never treated girls like girls or boys like boys. Kai treated people the way a normal person treated germs: they existed, it was best avoiding them, but sometimes you just had no choice in the matter.

"Not officially. But one does not bring a daughter to a meeting with a young bachelor for any other reason."

Kai? Bachelor?

These people were doomed. And by the look on Ivan's face, the butler/manservant knew as much.

The unexpected doorbell sound made Ray jump as it echoed throughout the house.

Ivan sighed and stood up, fixing his fancy coat. "That would be our visitor."

"What, another one?"

The ringing sounded again. This time not once, but twice, three times, until a person seemingly leaned full onto the button. Then silence. Then twice more.

Ivan hurried towards the door with an expression of hurt and opened it wide, stepping aside for the guest. Or guests.  
"Welcome, mister Ivanov. We have been expecting you."

Ray stared from where he stood.

"Been watching 007, bud?" A mocking voice sounded. Cold and hard, yet musical with amusement at the same time. "You need a cat and a large chair for the scene. And what's with the English?"

"Tala?" Ray squeaked in wonder, grounded on the spot at the kitchen doorway. His cat eyes became slits as he was ready to react in self-defense.

"Oh, you already have a cat!"

He should react to the insult. It was a familiar face, however. And in real time and real life, not just a web call from one of his teammates. Seeing was Tala Ivanov was as intruding as it was terrifying.

Tala Ivanov.

Here.

Did he come to kill him? Or did he come to mock him to death?

"Mister Hiwatari requests the language -" Ray sighed in relief, remembering that Tala was most probably here because of Kai. "... due to the international -" The words that followed broke his mind. Not having any clue what Ivan said, but it seemed to include the word company.

"Business handling, Ivan. It's not that hard," Tala told him with a tired look. "Get a web connection. Type in _Duolingo_ or something similar."

Stepping inside, the visitor looked up and down, as if searching for someone. Cold icy eyes barely glancing to where the tiger was standing. Drops of rain streamed down the wolf as if deflected by a force-field of something worse.

Suddenly, Tala decided to yell for Kai. As if they were on the opposite sides of the beydish. The name echoed just as the bell did a few minutes earlier. Ray stood his ground this time and just glared at the disturbance, his lips in a snarl.

A door opened and closed somewhere, making all three of them look up to where the second floor ended.

Sure enough, Kai and the man he was receiving finally left confines often the office. The man chattering while tired looking Kai just nodded along. His and Tala's eyes met and they glared at each other. Kai's look saying: shut the fuck up and Tala's replying in a negative.

Something stomped down the stairs and Ray came to as a girl shoved him out of the way, even though he was nowhere near her route to the door. Huffing and muttering under her breath, Ray thought the meeting didn't go as she planned. The gentleman part of him wanted to comfort her, while something more primal felt pride for Kai.

Tala continued to combine the looks of mock and glare expertly. Aimed at everything in the room - mainly the host - whilst some official sounding farewells were said.

Not getting the reaction he wished for, the newest guest dumped his soaking cloak on the floor with a wet thud. Ray was offended, Ivan sighed tiredly and Kai just lifted his eyebrow in a "seriously?" manner.

Saying the last goodbye to the monkey-suited man and his glamorous daughter that was beginning to look more like a twelve-year-old who didn't get the right colored pony, Kai stepped away from the door as Ivan gently closed it. The phoenix just stood there, dazed, tired... Cranky if that was possible.

Ray swallowed expecting another beybattle of doom to follow up soon enough. This time, he's making sure to show Kai a thing of two of being pushed around.

The crazed guest was right in the host's personal space. Hand over the shoulder, pulling him close. "So, how are you enjoying the leadership, Great CEO of Hiwatari Enterprises?"

The man of the house was either deeply offended by the words or didn't approve of the actions. Probably had a problem with both. And glared in return. He reached up, physically lifting the hand off his person.

"Oh come on! Is this how you treat your favorite guest?" Tala yelled after him.

Ray snorted as he saw the long suffering look on his friend's face. Tala is either going to be ignored or beheaded. His personal religion promoted peace, so he bypassed that and voted for the second one.

But Kai trained his patience with the challenging surroundings of Tyson's dojo and rose up from it an expert.

"You can dump your stuff in my room."

"What about ten other guest rooms you have?"

"There are five and four are being renovated. So unless you feel like sleeping on ten inches thick layer of dust, I suggest you do as I say."

"What about the fifth one?" Tala asked, a bit surprised if not scared of invading Kai's personal room.

"Taken," Ray spoke, trying to hide a cheeky grin.

Tala stared him down, more than a head taller. Ray didn't flinch away. He'll be damned if he didn't go through enough adaption to be here. He deserved his own room until Kai decided to personally kick him out. The wolf was annoying his host, not to mention a good friend that had a rough beginning of the week.

Tala's initial surprise at Ray's forwardness was soon outlived. A crooked smirk that worried a regular person with emotions and a pain-threshold replaced it.

"Kai, buddy ... I know you're a fan of cats. But you've been here for a month and you're already letting in strays?"

"Ray is not a cat," Kai simply stated under the growl that meant he was in worse off than Ray first thought. "He's my team-mate."

Not a friend. But a team-mate. Ray's mood was getting sour as well.

"Ex-team-mate," Tala corrected him. "So was I at one point."

He followed Kai who was already heading up the stairs. Each step holding enough force to stomp out a rat.

"And you're here as well, aren't you?"

Tala stopped and closed his eyes. "Heh. What got your panties up in a bunch?"

Kai kept ascending. Ignoring Ray's feeble attempt to draw attention. "People."

"Hate to break it to you, bud, but there's around 8 billion more where that one came from!" Tala yelled after him from the bottom of the staircase.

"Please, Mr Ivanov. Lower your voice," the manservant pleaded, worriedly looking after his retreating master as well.

Tala ignored him. "And more than half of them are female!"

The door to Kai's bedroom slammed shut.

Silence.

"Yeah … I'm not going in there now." He looked at Ray and shrugged. "Someone had to tell him the ugly truth."

Ivan excused himself fast. Grabbing Tala's backpack and dragging it to the closet beside the main door.

"What about you, little fuzzy-one. Been deported?" Tala seemed to get some of his sadistic cheer back into those ice-cold eyes of his at the sight of him.

"I'm not fuzzy."

"But you are little."

"I am not."

Tala looked down at him pitifully. With his posture it seemed quite a way. "Yes, you are."

"You Russians are just freakishly tall!"

"And you Chinese kitty-cats are small."

Ray opened his mouth to retort with the same kind of childish comeback, but then figured he had better ammo in his arsenal. "What are you even doing here?"

"Needed a place to crash. Have a train to Ufa tomorrow evening to see Ian. How about you?"

At that kind of logical explanation Ray's teeth clicked shut so fast he almost bit his tongue. What was he doing here? Kai invited him, sure. But Kai was being his grouchy self lately. And Ray was trying to be useful, with little proof of succeeding. Perhaps he should go out and meet new people, new opportunities. That was why he accepted the offer, wasn't it?

"Ah, you're the fall-back." Tala finally nodded, as if Ray just answered his question.

"Fall-back?"

"Someone he can return to and be his emo self around. Safe and familiar."

"I doubt I'm …"

"You two never had a match after you came here?"

"Sure we did-" Ray cut off at Tala's snort.

" _Stopped blading, my ass!_ " he yelled up the stairs.

There was no sound from Kai or Ivan.

"I knew he couldn't handle it without letting out some steam."

Ray shrugged. He knew what Tala meant. When Kai dragged him out in the cold that evening, there was something in him snapping the wrong way. But as they bladed he got his control back. Went crazy in his usual manner. Using that known outlet. Ray didn't believe that one should just cut off blading. Maybe lessen in during the years, but not going cold-turkey about it.

"What was with the girl?" Tala asked.

"The people he meets with keep bringing their daughters. Ivan said that he is a suitable bachelor."

Tala laughed. Not just chuckled, but downright howled like a maniac. "I'd say! Rich and famous. But man, are they barking up the wrong tree!"

Eyebrows knitted in confusion, Ray waited for an explanation. Sure, Kai had never shown any interest in anybody. And they never talked about it at any point. But what Tala was implying so openly still came as a surprise. "You mean … Kai is …"

But how would Tala know? Sure, they were team-mates at one point, and supposedly had history from the Abby. But BladeBreakers were family. And if Kai never talked about it with them, why would he share it with Tala? Still, Ray kind of wanted to to know. He didn't understand why, he just had to. "Is Kai gay?"

Tala shook his head, laughing again. "Lord no. Boy, girl … Kai doesn't discriminate. He hates everyone equally. He's asexual."

Well, that made sense. But Ray couldn't imagine what that would be like. Not finding anyone physically attractive. He had a few carnal thoughts about certain people. He really liked some. Asexual people never had a romantic relationship, right? Or did they? It was something alien when you grew up in a small village where kids were necessary to continue to work the land few decades later. No one there even thought about being alone. Gay was frowned upon, but if an offspring was produced, no one really cared what you did after with whom. If you didn't mind being the gossip of the village. Usually there were some tears and hard-feelings involved, but you weren't as outed as a person who refused to let anyone near.

"How does that work?"

Tala bumped into his shoulder as he went to raid the kitchen. "Imagine going down a busy street."

"Yeah?"

Ray wasn't even as concerned as he should be about the food he made for Kai.

"Does it happen that you eventually come to see someone physically attractive to you. A girl that you wouldn't mind touching or being touched by."

Ray shrugged.

It obviously wasn't clear enough for Tala that was watching him over the brim of the prepared bowl of soup. "A boy?"

"A girl," Ray corrected fast and loud. "Yes."

"Congrats, you're heterosexual. Or you're lying and you're a closet case. I see both genders. Making me bisexual."

"I know how other sexualities work," Ray grumbled.

"Kai doesn't see anyone like that."

Yeah, sure. Ray can see how that could complicate things a little when it came down with meeting future dates. "That isn't hating everyone," he told Tala.

"No. Still a sad, sad world to live in."

He was dramatizing, Ray could see it. However, one more important question bubbled up. "How do you know he's asexual?"

"I asked him."

That didn't seem like something you could do to Kai. "You asked him?"

"Yeah, he's pretty straightforward with things he doesn't feel strongly about."

"How did you figure to ask him in the first place?"

Tala shrugged, putting down a spoon and lifting a fork, examining it for any possible stains. "Demolition boys can hold their liquor. We like to hang in bars. We're not monks, we're soldiers," he clarified at the look he was receiving.

"Except for Kai. We could convince him to sit and drink, but when the fun started, he put the money on the table and left. Happened one too many times and I asked. Asked if it was the girls. Brought him to all-male bar myself. Turned out it wasn't just the girls."

Ray had to sit down for some reason. In some state of shock by the information and the openness of Tala's sharing it.

"He didn't even know a name for it. Just that 'no thanks' thing he does when some lowlife asks to beybattle him."

"And that was it?"

Tala nodded, mouthful of cold lasagna that made him moan in appreciation. At least someone was eating it, Ray thought guiltily about his still hungry host.

"Except for the time when I kissed him."

Ray spluttered. "You WHAT?"

Tala swallowed and shrugged with ease. "I was drunk and couldn't drop the subject. Kai was right next to me."

"You kissed Kai?"

Tala bit into the meat part of the dish. "Oh, yeah. Got my lights punched out for it. Woke up half an hour later. My jaw was blue for weeks."

Ray stared.

"Kai doesn't like being pushed," Tala explained further.

"It took knocking you out to figure that?"

"I'm used to his cold shoulder. Abby was full of kids who did the same."

Ray pondered that. Pondered what he knew about Kai and his history in Russia. Not much. Except that The Pits were a dark place and couldn't compare to the desolation that was the Abby.

"I can't believe Kai punched you," he said dejectedly.

Tala pushed the mostly empty plate away from him. "I went too far. I sometimes do that."

Ray didn't know if he was wisecracking or not. So he didn't laugh and he didn't glare. He just blinked at the memory of the frozen-over stadium and all the over-the-line situations that Tala pulled in the games two years ago. Did Tala ever do anything within borders of normal?

Tala got up with a groan, stretching. Going back into the entry hall to dig something out of his backpack. "Well, Kai is pissed. It's raining outside. How about I show you how FPS games work?"

* * *

 **A/N:** No, I do not update as often as you would like. Hell, I don't update as often as I would like.  
I have a regular job (9h/day), finishing my graduation (12h/week), muscle pains, moving pains, a cat that demands my attention more often than not, a diet that makes me weak, an original work I'm rather working on (because there are lots of fanfics and these stories are already told, whilst there are two worlds expecting me to write their own) ... oh, and my Mum died from cancer.

Congrats, Darakna, you do not win at life. Make a day last 30h and we can deal.

I write because I love to write. And as aforementioned, when my wrist lets me write, I'd rather do so with my original story. So sorry, not sorry. When you order a person to do something they were planning to do anyways, there is 90% chance that it won't get done, coz you just took the joy out of it.

You can thank for this update from my last reviewer of The Pits with the epic name of AloeWera, she was very nice and told me that stuff is intriguing and she would like to read more stuff like that. Trust me, does wonders for motivation to be appreciated. You can leave that pushy tumblr/fb-stuff on tumblr/fb.

I have some dialogue for the next part already written (from so long ago I can't remember the date). But as my wrist hurts like a mofo right now, and my job requires me to have a functional wrist to the end of the week we shall see how it goes. No promises, although as mentioned, nice reviews help.

Tala comes to bring gifts of brutal truth and bitchy attitude. And also, notice why I say this is a slow build and something MIGHT happen. Asexual characters are not easy to work with when there is 'romance' involved. Trust me, I tried before (questioned an asexual at length to find a loophole, and there are some, but they're hard to work with at speed).

 **REVIEW FOR MY SOUL AND ANY ADDITIONAL READING! TELL ME ABOUT MISTAKES!**


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